The Art of Dialectic between Dialogue and Rhetoric: The Aristotelian Tradition

253 Pages·2011·1.57 MB·English

by  Marta Spranzi

The Art of Dialectic between Dialogue and Rhetoric
Controversies (CVS)
Controversies includes studies in the theory of controversy or any of its salient
aspects, studies of the history of controversy forms and their evolution, case-
studies of particular historical or current controversies in any field or period,
edited collections of documents of a given controversy or a family of related
controversies, and other controversy-focused books. The series also acts as a
forum for ‘agenda-setting’ debates, where prominent discussants of current
controversial issues take part. Since controversy involves necessarily dialogue,
manuscripts focusing exclusively on one position will not be considered.
For an overview of all books published in this series, please see
http://benjamins.com/catalog/cvs
Editor
Marcelo Dascal
Tel Aviv University
Advisory Board
Harry Collins Kuno Lorenz
University of Cardiff University of Saarbrücken
Frans H. van Eemeren Everett Mendelssohn
University of Amsterdam Harvard University
Gerd Fritz Quintín Racionero
University of Giessen UNED, Madrid
Fernando Gil † Yaron Senderowicz
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Tel Aviv University
Sociales, Paris
Stephen Toulmin†
Thomas Gloning University of Southern California
University of Giessen
Ruth Wodak
Alan G. Gross University of Lancaster
University of Minnesota
Geoffrey Lloyd
Cambridge University
Volume 9
The Art of Dialectic between Dialogue and Rhetoric. The Aristotelian Tradition
by Marta Spranzi
The Art of Dialectic
between Dialogue and Rhetoric
The Aristotelian Tradition
Marta Spranzi
University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
and CERSES (CNRS, University of Paris Descartes)
John Benjamins Publishing Company
Amsterdam / Philadelphia
TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
8
American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The Art of Dialectic between Dialogue and Rhetoric : The Aristotelian Tradition /
Marta Spranzi.
p. cm. (Controversies, issn 1574-1583 ; v. 9)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1.  Linguistics--Philosophy. 2.  Dialectic. 3.  Persuasion (Rhetoric) 4.  Dialogue. 5.  Aristotle. 
I. Title.
P121.S68 2011
101--dc22 2011008671
isbn 978 90 272 1889 6 (Hb ; alk. paper)
© 2011 – John Benjamins B.V.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any
other means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. · P.O. Box 36224 · 1020 me Amsterdam · The Netherlands
John Benjamins North America · P.O. Box 27519 · Philadelphia pa 19118-0519 · usa
 ForThomas,MartinandSamuel.
 Maytheymakethebestofwhatever
 hasbeenhandeddowntothem.

Table of contents
Acknowledgements xi
introduction
Dialectic and the notion of tradition 1
chapter 1
Aristotle and the art of dialectic 11
1.1 Dialectic and the aporetic method 14
1.1.1 What dialectic is and how it works 14
1.1.2 The uses of dialectic and its epistemic function 18
1.2 Disputation and knowledge: “peirastic” and “non-peirastic” dialectic 24
1.2.1 The SophisticalRefutations 25
1.2.2 The eighth book of the Topics 26
1.3 The ‘topoi’ in rhetoric and dialectic 30
1.3.1 Rhetorical and dialectical invention 31
1.3.2 The nature and function of the ‘topoi’ 32
1.4 Conclusions: dialectical reasoning, assent and necessity 34
chapter 2
Dialectic in the Latin world: Cicero, Boethius and the Scholastics 39
2.1 Cicero: rhetoric and reasoning inutramquepartem  40
2.1.1 The ‘loci’: Invention and judgment 41
2.1.2 Disputation and probable reasoning 43
2.2 Boethius, the Topics and the liberal arts 47
2.3 Interlude: the Topics in the Middle Ages and the ‘quaestio disputata’ 51
2.3.1 The topics (‘loci’) and scholastic dialectic 53
2.3.2 The Medieval ‘quaestio disputata’ and the ‘obligationes’ 54
viii The Art of Dialectic between Dialogue and Rhetoric
chapter 3
The revival of dialectic in the Renaissance: an introduction 59
chapter 4
The new humanist dialectic and rhetoric: Rudolph Agricola
on invention and probability 65
4.1 Renaissance Humanism and the revenge of rhetoric 69
4.1.1 Philosophy against persuasion 70
4.1.2 Dialectic and sophistry 72
4.2 Rudolph Agricola and the reform of dialectic 76
4.3 Invention and judgment 78
4.3.1 The places 81
4.3.2 The field of dialectical invention 83
4.3.3 The use of arguments: affects and disposition 85
4.4 Probability: proof and things 88
4.4.1 “Suitability” and audience 91
4.4.2 “Fittingness” and the world 92
4.5 Conclusions: argument, persuasion and invention 95
chapter 5
The Topics and Renaissance Aristotelianism: Agostino Nifo’s
commentary and his sources 99
5.1 Renaissance Aristotelianism and dialectic 101
5.1.1 Alexander of Aphrodisias: Aristotelian dialectic
and the art of debate 102
5.1.2 Averroes: the art of logic and kinds of assent 105
5.1.3 Aristotelianism and Humanism 107
5.2 Agostino Nifo between Averroism and Alexandrinism 109
5.3 The meaning of dialectic 110
5.3.1 Dialectic and demonstration 111
5.3.2 Probability and disputation 114
5.4 The uses of dialectic and knowledge 120
5.4.1 The “invention” and “judgment” of the truth 122
5.4.2 Dialectic and the principles of the sciences 125
5.5 Different types of dialectic and disputation 128
5.6 Conclusions: Aristotle’s dialectic and knowledge revisited 131
Table of contents ix
chapter 6
Dialectic and dialogue: Carlo Sigonio and the “road to truth” 133
6.1 Sigonio and Tasso: dialogue as the “image” of dialectical disputation 137
6.1.1 The historical and intellectual origins of dialogue 137
6.1.2 The “force and nature” of dialogue (9r) 141
6.1.3 “Preparation” and imitation 143
6.1.4 “Contention”: Dialectical proof between science and rhetoric 146
6.1.5 The forms and aims of dialogue 151
6.2 Sperone Speroni: “aporetic” dialogue as a playful game 154
6.2.1 Dialogue and opinion as the “portrait of science” 155
6.2.2 Imitation, illusion and invention 157
6.3 Conclusions: dialogue and invention 158
chapter 7
Rhetoric, dialectic and epistemology in contemporary
argumentation theory 161
conclusion
The epistemological value of Aristotelian dialectic 173
Nootteess 179
References 215
Name index 231
Subject index 237